Children gather to recite morning prayers at a school run by the Sisters of the Destitute in India. To learn more, read ‘My Great Hope Is the Sisters’ in the Winter 2016 edition of ONE.(photo: John Mathew)

In this image from last month, people flee the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul, Iraq. Thousands who are seeking safety are finding shelter in the homes of strangers, sometimes inside Mosul.(photo: CNS/Mohammed Salem, Reuters)

Russia ‘scaling down’ military presence in Syria(Al Jazeera) Russia’s military says it has begun scaling down its deployment to Syria with its sole aircraft carrier the first to quit the conflict zone. President Vladimir Putin ordered the reduction of forces in Syria on 29 December as he announced a ceasefire between government and rebel forces, which has since dampened down the fighting...

Egypt’s Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas, mourn bombing victims(The Los Angeles Times) Emad Tawil on Thursday returned to the church where he survived a bombing that killed his wife and daughter last month, determined to celebrate Christmas even as he mourned. St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo is the mother church for Egyptian Copts, who celebrate Christmas on 7 January, based on the ancient Julian calendar. “Every time they bomb a church or attack us, they increase our faith,” said Tawil, 53...

Bishop says Turkish Catholics fearful, but government supportive(CNS) A church leader in Turkey said Catholics are fearful about attending church after recent terrorist attacks, but insisted local Christians can count on government protection. “Although we can move around freely, people are understandably afraid of coming to Mass and there’s been a drop in participation,” said Bishop Ruben Tierrablanca Gonzalez, apostolic vicar of Istanbul...

Young Lebanon refugees rap about their plight(The Daily Star) Calling themselves “The Homsies,” a group of Syrian teenagers in north Lebanon’s Akkar are using their musical talents to send a message of peace — and at the same time to help improve the lives of refugees. “If there is one thing everyone does, it’s listen to music. So this is a powerful tool to convey a message,” Qotiba, a 14-year-old from near the Syrian city of Homs, told The Daily Star. His song, “Al-Qusair — Spring of Freedom,” is a powerful and poetic expression of his longing for his hometown. “Syria is being destroyed and everyone should know that this is happening and that we want peace,” he said...

Kindergarteners sit for a lesson at the St. Paul Service Center in the village of Izbet Chokor in Egypt. This hamlet is home to both Christians and Muslims, who have lived together peacefully for decades. Learn more about how they are Finding Common Ground in the Winter 2016 edition of ONE. (photo: Don Duncan)

In the video above, a Chaldean priest from Iraq says Christians have found support in one another amid persecution in the Middle East. Thousands of Iraqis are fleeing Mosul every day as a new phase begins in the battle to retake the city from ISIS. (video: Rome Reports)

Syrian cease-fire crumbles(The Washington Post) A Syrian cease-fire backed by Russia and Turkey is crumbling five days after it began, with government forces pushing offensives around Damascus and rebels threatening to suspend participation in new peace talks. The truce was to have been followed by a meeting between government representatives and mainstream rebel factions in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan...

Over 2,000 Iraqis a day fleeing Mosul(Reuters) More than 2,000 Iraqis a day are fleeing Mosul, several hundred more each day than before U.S.-led coalition forces began a new phase of their battle to retake the city from Islamic State, the United Nations said on Wednesday...

Pope issues plea for nonviolence(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is calling for a renewed culture of nonviolence to inform global politics today, saying military responses to conflicts only breed further violence. The Pope’s appeal comes in his annual message for the World Day of Peace, which is marked by the Catholic Church on 1 January...

Sisters of Loreto mark 175 years on mission in South Asia(Fides) The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which brings together the religious better known as “Sisters of Loreto,” celebrates 175 years of missionary presence in South Asia. “With immense gratitude to God we celebrate the arrival in India of the first sisters, who 175 years ago brought the love of God,” Sister Anita M. Braganza, head of the religious Province of South Asia, said to Fides...

Church in Kerala forms support group for transgender people(CNS) The church in India’s Kerala state has formed a group of priests, nuns and laypeople to respond to the pastoral needs of transgender people, reported ucanews.com. Formed in Cochin under the aegis of Pro-Life Support, a global social service movement within the church, the ministry is significant as it is one of the few outreach programs for the transgender community by the institutional church in India...

The unique traditions of Ethiopian Christmas(Nazret.com) Christmas in Ethiopia, like most other Christian holidays, is celebrated in its own unique way. Falling on 7 January, the holiday of Genna (also known as Lidet, or “birthday”), does not hold as prominent a place on the Ethiopian calendar as it does in other parts of the world. Easter (Fasika) reigns as the preeminent Christian holiday, but Genna nonetheless remains a major religious and cultural event throughout the country...

In a chilly and damp room, 12-year-old David does his homework near a pile of books. “Do you know what I want to become,” the fair-haired boy asks, looking up from his assignment. “An archaeologist, in order to study animals that are extinct.”

“But there are also other things I want,” he adds, “but won’t have.”

The dreams of David, and those of his 9-year-old brother and 26-year-old sister, are varied and often changing, but they all hold one element in common — the return of their father.

David last saw his father seven years ago; he had given David a kiss goodbye at the door as he left for Russia in search of work. He has not returned since.

“He makes telephone calls, but I don’t speak to him. I think he doesn’t even remember me,” the boy says, trying to hide his tears.

Many men in the northern Armenian town of Tashir leave the country to work abroad; unemployment tops 50 percent in the region. Many who work in Russia provide the minimum means of subsistence for their families back home, but some never return. As a result, women are left behind to shoulder the burden of running households and rearing children on their own.

Stories like that are repeated again and again throughout Armenia, where child poverty is skyrocketing. The prospects are often bleak. Many of the poorest children in Armenia live in distant, rural corners of the country. A significant number live on the streets; others live in “containers,” pre-fab boxes, not real houses.

But for some, there is hope. The Church is watching over these forgotten boys and girls, street children who have no place to call home, at a caring place called the Artashat Center. It’s helping them as best as it can.

Most of these children have never experienced a true Christmas. But this year, Archbishop Raphael Francois Minassian is determined to give them one belatedly. He hopes that CNEWA — and our kind donors — will help make it happen.

He wants to buy simple gifts — gloves, a warm sweater, a pair of shoes — for 300 forgotten kids. He hopes to purchase it all and celebrate with the children a bit later in the New Year.

You can help make this happen — and extend the spirit of love and generosity of the Christmas season through the New Year. In this way, you can help bring Christ into the world again and again, insuring that those most in need will experience joy and love long after the holiday is over.

Visit this giving page to learn more. From all of us at CNEWA, thank you — and be assured of many prayers and good wishes during this Christmas season and in the New Year!

Sister Sumitha Puthenchakkalackal serves a midday meal in Ghaziabad, India. She is one of the Sisters of the Destitute, who live among the poor they serve. Learn more about them in ‘My Great Hope Is the Sisters,’ a profile of their inspiring mission in the Winter 2016 edition of ONE.(photo: John Mathew)

Displaced Syrians are seen with food on 12 December at a camp on the border between Syria and Turkey. A brokered cease-fire took effect in Syria Friday as part of a deal that includes a return to peace talks to end the five-year-long war. (photo: CNS/Maysun, EPA)

Cease-fire begins across Syria(The Washington Post) A cease-fire announced by the Syrian government went into effect across the country early Friday as part of a broader deal that includes a return to peace talks to end more than five years of war...

Children of Mosul talk about life under ISIS(The Los Angeles Times) The boy started tagging along with me as I walked through the Hassan Sham displaced persons camp east of Mosul earlier this month. Iyad Mohamed Yunus said he was 14 years old, but he looked several years younger. A black winter jacket and gray sweatpants hung on his wiry frame. His cheap black canvas sneakers were caked with mud from the camp’s dirt streets, now wet with cold rain. He had a black cap pulled low on his face, and I could see his breath as he talked about life in Mosul under Islamic State...

The long road to rebuilding Gaza(Al Jazeera) Hundreds of families in Gaza still live in caravans, a temporary solution to the mass displacement that followed the 2014 war. Many have no idea when they will be able to leave the caravans and rebuild their destroyed homes — a situation for which they blame Israel and Egypt, who have blockaded Gaza for the past decade, and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority...

In India, 45,000 Hindus paid tribute to Jesus on Christmas Day(Vatican Radio) On Christmas day, some 45,000 Hindus paid tribute to the Child Jesus in Bhubaneshwar, capital of the State of Odisha, India. The event is historic, the more so since the Indian State was the scene in 2008 of the most vicious persecution of Christians ever perpetuated in India...

Vatican says nearly 4 million pilgrims visited during Jubilee(CNS) More than 3.9 million pilgrims visited and attended papal events, liturgies or prayer services during the Holy Year of Mercy in 2016, the Vatican said. The Prefecture of the Papal Household, the Vatican office that coordinates the audiences and distributes the free tickets to papal audiences and liturgies, said a total of 3,952,140 people attended a papal event at the Vatican...

Sister Hanne, one of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, sits with Lucien, a 7-year-old refugee from Qaraqosh, in his residence in Amman. Learn more about the work these sisters are doing with refugees in Welcoming the Stranger in the Winter 2016 edition of ONE.(photo: Tamara Abdul Hadi)

Women light candles before attending Christmas Eve Mass at the Melkite Catholic Cathedral in Damascus, Syria. The Syrian government has announced a cease-fire agreement on Thursday, a potential turning point in the war. (photo: CNS/Youssef Badawi, EPA)

Syrian government announces truce(The New York Times) The Syrian government and its most important ally, Russia, announced on Thursday that they had reached a cease-fire agreement with Syrian rebels and with Turkey — a potential turning point in a civil war that has lasted nearly six years and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives...

Winter moves in across Lebanon and refugees struggle(UNHCR) There are just over one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. One-in-two live in substandard shelters like tents, garages, warehouses, unfinished buildings and animal sheds. They require continuous support to maintain their shelters, especially during winter, which can be bitter and long in Lebanon. More rain and snowstorms are forecast for the coming weeks. Some high-altitude towns in the Bekaa Valley and northern Lebanon have already been blanketed in snow...

Iraqi units resume offensive in Mosul(The Washington Post) Iraqi army, police and elite counterterrorism forces launched a combined assault on eastern Mosul after a two-week break, the military announced Thursday...

Kerry’s blunt words for Israel draw criticism(The New York Times) Secretary of State John Kerry’s rebuke of the Israeli government on Wednesday set off a wave of criticism from lawmakers in both parties. Republicans denounced what they said was the Obama administration’s harsh treatment of a steadfast ally and Democrats signaled that they were uneasy with Mr. Kerry’s pressure on Israel, even as they praised the effort to promote Middle East peace...

Palestinian family celebrates first Christmas together in 26 years(CNS) For the first time in 26 years, Lilian and Nadeem Aqleh had all six of their children with them to celebrate Christmas. “This is the happiest day of my life,” said Lilian, 70, who is Catholic, as she celebrated the holiday with her children and grandchildren, some of who traveled from the United States and Canada. “It is hard having your children so far away. I want my children with me. At Christmas we remember the birth of Christ and the meaning of Christmas is to share it with family...”

Abraham George, an Ethiopian Catholic, carries the cross during the Sunday Divine Liturgy in Bahir Dar. Read more about how Ethiopians are spreading the Gospel in Ethiopia’s Sleeping Giant in the Winter 2016 edition of ONE. (photo: James Jeffrey)